Battling tendinitis in both knees, Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol will sit out Tuesday’s game in Houston, the team decided. But, coach Mike D’Antoni said, it’s possible that Gasol could miss more time.

“We got to get him healthy,” D’Antoni said, according to ESPNLA.com’s Dave McMenamin. “Whatever it takes—one game, two games, 10 games—I don’t know. It’s day to day, but he’s got to be healthy. It wasn’t fair (to him). He’s trying to battle through some stuff and in this league, you just can’t do that.”

Pau Gasol has struggled to define his role on Mike D'Antoni's Lakers. (AP Photo)

Of course, Gasol also has been battling the difficulty of fitting into D’Antoni’s offensive system, which has not been easy for him, especially with point guard Steve Nash out.

Gasol has struggled all year, averaging 12.6 points on 42.0 percent shooting, both career lows. But it has been especially bad in his last six games, in which he has averaged 9.0 points and shot 36.5 percent.

That led to some public sniping between Gasol and D’Antoni, and caused teammate Kobe Bryant to say, “Put your big-boy pants on. Come on ... just adjust. You can’t whine about it or complain about it.”

Gasol’s struggles have also led to the resurgence of trade rumors around the big man, a staple of the Lakers over the last two-plus years. The Lakers are still far from actually pulling off a Gasol deal, but they have been getting inquiries as to Gasol’s availability.

"Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has recently spoken to Gasol's representatives and the gist of the conversation was that if Gasol is unable to adjust to D'Antoni's system, the team will have no choice but to search for possible trade scenarios," McMenamin wrote.

One name to watch, if the Lakers more seriously pursue a move, according to veteran NBA journalist Chris Sheridan: New Orleans power forward Ryan Anderson. The 24-year-old, who isn't eligible to be traded until Dec. 15, is averaging 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds in his first season with New Orleans. He's a better fit in D'Antoni's system, largely because of his outside shooting ability. Anderson is shooting better than 42 percent from beyond on the arc on more than 7 attempts per game. Sheridan reports that he'd be the Lakers' top target—though that doesn't mean the Hornets are willing to give him up.

Other theoretical targets: Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors and David Lee of the Golden State Warriors.